Pythagorean Theorem and non-Right Triangles

Date: 03/09/2002 at 13:16:54
From: Katy Palmen
Subject: Pythagorean Theorem
Why doesn't the Pythagorean Theorem work for triangles other than
right triangles?
I can provide counter examples to show that it doesn't work for
specific triangles, such as equilateral or obtuse, but I can't figure
out a general explanation or proof.
Thank you for your assistance!

Date: 03/09/2002 at 22:34:40
From: Doctor Jeremiah
Subject: Re: Pythagorean Theorem
Hi Katy,
The Pythagorean formula is a special case of a more general equation.
The full equation is the Cosine Law:
C^2 = A^2 + B^2 - 2AB cos(c)
You will notice that this equation only degenerates into the
Pythagorean formula when cos(c) is equal to zero. And that can only
happen when angle c is 90 degrees. That extra term is the secret to
why it only works for 90-degree angles.
It all goes back to the geometrical representation of the Pythagorean
theorem, which you can find in the Dr. Math FAQ:
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.pythagorean.html
If the angle is not 90 degrees, you end up with something where the
two squares don't add up to the third:
For example, 3 squared plus 4 squared equals 5 squared, and the sides
of the triangle are 3, 4, and 5 when the angle is 90 degrees, but
if you make the angle 77.36 degrees then the side lengths become 4, 4,
and 5. And 4 squared plus 4 squared does not equal 5 squared.
You can cut out some squares of paper of different sizes: 3x3, 4x4,
5x5, 6x6, 7x7, 8x8, and see which ones work for right-angled
triangles.
However these numbers are right and the cosine law can figure out the
long side:
C^2 = A^2 + B^2 - 2AB cos(c)
C^2 = 4^2 + 4^2 - 2(4)(4) cos(77.36)
C^2 = 16 + 16 - 32 cos(77.36)
C^2 = 32 - 32 cos(77.36)
C^2 = 32 - 7
C^2 = 25
C = 5
So we can use the cosine law to figure out what the angle is:
C^2 = A^2 + B^2 - 2AB cos(c)
5^2 = 3^2 + 4^2 - 2(3)(4) cos(c)
25 = 9 + 16 - 24 cos(c)
25 - 9 - 16 = -24 cos(c)
0 = -24 cos(c)
0 = cos(c)
arccos(0) = c
90 = c
Here is an entry from the archives that gives more examples:
Basics of Trigonometry
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/problems/coley.12.12.01.html
- Doctor Jeremiah, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/